(a)

the report was produced jointly by Transport and Economic Development officers in order to explain the current situation both in terms of physical and digital connectivity;

(b)

flooding had a major impact on connectivity in the last six weeks of 2012; Great Western announced that 2000 train journeys had been delayed or cancelled and the M5 was also affected by flooding therefore the South West was cut off;

(c)

Plymouth relied on the M5, A38 and a single rail connection; the lack of resilience to the transport network hit business confidence during the flooding in 2012;

(d)

it was projected that incidents of flooding would happen more frequently in the period up to 2050 and beyond;

(e)

for every 10 minutes of travel time from London it was estimated that productivity dropped by 6%;

(f)

in the South West there was far less spent per population on transport than in comparison to other parts of the country;

(g)

Plymouth was not connected to a motorway within 10 miles or airport within 25 miles and was perceived as peripheral to the rest of the UK;

(h)

two years ago the previous Cabinet Member for Transport set up the Plymouth Rail Franchising Task Force to campaign for improvements to the rail network, this was now a Peninsular Rail Task Force representing the aims and aspirations of the five South West Peninsular Local Transport Authorities;

(i)

Plymouth had great existing digital connectivity enabling significant strategic opportunities for the city; Plymouth was among the ten best locations in the UK for superfast broadband as 95% of the city had access;

(j)

it was important that those without a digital connection or the skills to access the internet were not neglected; officers were trying to encourage people to be more digitally engaged;

(k)

each contact and transaction with government switched online could generate savings between £3.30 and £12;

(l)

the Council was developing a three year £330,000 project, the largest of its kind in the UK, to encourage citizens to access the internet and create positive impacts in skills and employability;

(l)

the infrastructure for digital connectivity was put in place by Virgin Media; BT had the current contract and were required to meet superfast broadband requirements;

(m)

there was a risk that a section of the community would be neglected as they were unable to connect to the internet however officers were working to reach out and provide advice and support;

(n)

cost was an issue with digital connectivity and the exclusion of some residents however it was highlighted that the internet could be accessed free of charge at local libraries;

(o)

the outreach project would engage with voluntary community organisations as well as Citizens Advice, libraries, Age Concern and the Home and Communities Agency to encourage people to access the internet;

(p)

the Plymouth Rail Franchising Task Force had met on two occasions; Network Rail and the Environment Agency attended the meetings to discuss changes needed;

(q)

officers were undertaking work to establish the best solution to connect Plymouth with the air network;

(r)

Government supported routes were used for connecting the highlands and the islands in Scotland;

(s)

the business community had already adapted their business needs before the closure of the airport therefore the closure did not affect Plymouth in economic terms.

(1)

the Working Plymouth panel recommend to the Cooperative Scrutiny Board that the Transformation Change Programme suitably recognises the difficulties that hard to reach groups have with digital connectivity in Plymouth;

(2)

an invitation would be extended to a representative of BT Group PLC to attend a future meeting to discuss digital connectivity in Plymouth.